2 Timothy 4:1-2, “I charge thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom; Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.”
This past Sunday, at Union Grove Primitive Baptist Church, I began a new series of sermons. I asked the Church congregation to please understand that if the Lord led in another way that I would prayerfully and humbly labor to follow Him, but at the present I felt confident that this effort was His will. The series is seven different subjects that teach about salvation by grace and grace alone. The subjects are, Election, Predestination, Redemption, Regeneration, Preservation, Resurrection and Glorification. In this effort we hope that God will be glorified by the preaching and the congregation edified to learn more about the Lord Jesus Christ. But some may say or ask, are you not supposed to be preaching the Name of Christ.? My response? Yes, and it is impossible to preach the name of Jesus Christ unless we are preaching what He taught in His Word.
Our study verse tells us of the exhortation of the Apostle Paul to the young minister Timothy. Paul exhorts Timothy to “Preach the word.” By preaching the Word, Timothy would be preaching Christ. This fact is true today. It is impossible to preach the Christ of the Bible unless we are preaching what He taught and gave us in His Holy Word. If we are preaching Christ, we will of necessity be preaching the Bible subjects of election, predestination, redemption, regeneration, preservation, resurrection and glorification. If we are failing to preach these subjects as they are taught in scripture, we are failing to preach about the Lord Jesus Christ. When the man of God preaches about the family of God being elected and predestined in Christ before the foundation of the world, he is preaching the name of Christ. When the man of God preaches about the redemption the Lord purchased for His elect family on the Cross of Calvary, he is preaching the name of Christ. When the man of God preaches about the direct work of God in the work of regeneration, he is preaching the name of Christ. When the man of God preaches about the preservation of the saints of God in Jesus Christ our Lord and the eternal security the elect have in their precious Savior, he is preaching the name of Christ. When the man of God is preaching about the resurrection on the last day and the glorification of the saints in the image of the Lord Jesus Christ, he is preaching the name of Jesus. And this is exactly what Paul is saying in our study verse. And according to Paul, there would be a time in the future when people would turn away from these truths and be turned unto “fables” (things not true). But the actions of the people do not change or alter the direct command to the man of God. No matter who turns away, the command to the man of God is to preach the God of the Bible.
Brothers and Sisters in Christ, I love to try to preach about my Savior. My son, Joshua Benjamin, recently said this to me. “It seems that God blesses a preacher with more liberty to preach when preaching salvation by grace alone.” My response? Yes, because that preaching glorifies God. And may God bless us to be more convicted to glorify Him Who saved this ungodly wretch from the hell he deserves. He is mine, and I am His by His grace and His grace alone. Praise Jesus, He is all my salvation and I love Him for what He did for me on the Cross about 2000 years ago. Thank you Lord!